The Dryad's Loyalty

Chapter 2: Hazel

Down in the oak forest below, Hazel was taking care of their plants after the umpteenth enemy attack. "Theere we go! All patched up!" they happily said, patting the tree they'd just finished healing... when suddenly they saw a massive shadow moving in the sky above, and ruinously falling not too far from there, making the loudest crash.

Hazel widened their eyes. It couldn't have been another attack, it was too soon! But then... what could that have been?
They took off and flew where the big thing had landed, and gasped in horror when they saw all the damage it'd done. Trees had been snapped in half, others had been uprooted, and the poor flowers, bushes and grass underneath had been completely ruined as well... that was going to take months to fix!
They could already feel themselves fuming "Once I find who's responsible for this-- ooooh they're gonna get a piece of my mind!" they gritted their teeth, inspecting what was left of the crashed ship, finding a big shell not too far from there, seemingly stuck in a sturdy piece of wood.
The red-headed dryad carefully walked up to it, looking inside, only to see something staring back at them: a pair of scary red eyes!
Hazel yelped and stumbled back as the turtle-like creature came out of his shell, shaking his head, still feeling disoriented.

"W-who are you and what gave you the right to toss your s-ship in this precious forest?!" the dryad immediately inquired, trying to act tough.

Bowser looked down at them, furrowing his brows "And what gives YOU the right to speak to me like that?" he growled "Do you really not know who I am?" he asked, struggling to even understand what was happening, where he was, and why a small fairy was complaining to him about something he had no control over.

Hazel stared at him blankly. They really had no idea who he might've been.

"Lord Bowser, King of the Koopas? Ruler of the Darklands?" the big koopa said, listing out all his titles and waiting for a reaction, feeling rather unnerved by the dryad's ignorance.

They slowly shook their head "Never heard of you..."

Bowser face-palmed, grunting "Ugh, whatever... I need to get out of here and go back to my castle, I don't have time to waste on you" he said, standing up and beginning to walk away, wood planks still stuck to his shell and all.

"H-hey wait! Where do you think you're going?!" Hazel called back to him, puffing up their cheeks "Don't tell me you're just going to leave this whole mess here!" they added, motioning to the remnants of the crashed airship.

"Yes I am, why?" Bowser replied, crossing his arms.

The dryad stammered "Wh-what do you mean WHY?! The ship is yours! You can't just leave the clean-up to me!"

"Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of me finding the exit to this forest in five minutes" he snarkily replied, walking away.

Hazel's eye twitched a little at how stubborn that koopa was being "Oh yeah? Well good luck, cause it's impossible to get out of here without MY help, and I'm not going to do anything for you until you help me fix what YOU caused"

"Yeah yeah sure..." Bowser replied dismissively. Picking one direction and walking away, figuring that if he kept going in a straight line, he'd eventually find his way out of the forest. He didn't need no fairy's help. "Man I can't wait to be back to my castle..." the king muttered to himself "Maybe Kamek can do something about all the wood stuck to my shell..." he grumbled, knowing he couldn't reach it on his own, much to his embarrassment.

However, after some walking... Bowser noticed that some of the trees were looking a bit too familiar. He tried to ignore it at first and kept going, but when he found himself face to face with his crashed airship again, his jaw dropped "I've been walking around in circles?!" he yelled, not realizing a certain someone was still around.